Rule 102 of the Patents Rules, 2003
Application for termination of compulsory licence under section 94
Sets out how a patentee or interested person applies to terminate a compulsory licence under section 94.
Official legal text
The verbatim statutory text of this provision is reproduced from the official source and checked by our legal reviewer before it is published here. Until that check is complete for this page, read the exact wording directly from the official source linked below — it is the only version that governs.
Read this as a plain-language summary. If it and the official text, or a relevant Gazette notification, say different things, the official text and the notification are what count.
What this rule requires, step by step
A compulsory licence is a remedy, not a permanent transfer. It is granted because a patented invention is not reaching the Indian public properly. If the reason disappears, section 94 allows the licence to be brought to an end. The patentee, or any other person interested, may apply to the Controller for termination on the ground that the circumstances that led to the grant no longer exist and are unlikely to come back.
Rule 102 supplies the mechanics. The application must be made on the form prescribed in the Second Schedule to the Patents Rules, 2003, with the fee prescribed in the First Schedule, and must be supported by a statement setting out the facts relied on. The applicant is asking the Controller to undo an earlier order, so the burden of showing changed circumstances rests on the applicant.
Because the licensee stands to lose a business, the rule builds in a right to object. The Controller sends the application and statement to the compulsory licensee, who may oppose termination by giving notice within the period the Rules allow. If the licensee objects, the matter proceeds much like other contested proceedings before the Controller, with evidence on affidavit and an opportunity for both sides to be heard before a reasoned order is passed.
The Act itself tells the Controller what to weigh. The interest of the person who has been working the invention under the compulsory licence must be given due regard. A licensee that has built a factory, trained workers and created a supply chain in reliance on the licence cannot simply be switched off because the patentee has now decided to enter the market. The Controller can refuse termination, or terminate on conditions and from a date that allows an orderly wind-down.
In practice the strongest applications show a genuine and durable change: the patentee is now manufacturing in India at scale, supply meets demand, and prices have come down to a level the public can afford. The weakest ones show only a short burst of activity timed to coincide with the application.
Why this rule matters
Patentees who want their exclusivity back, compulsory licensees who have invested in working the invention, and other persons interested in the patent.
After a compulsory licence has been granted, once the applicant believes the public-interest reasons behind it have genuinely disappeared.
A right to apply for termination on the prescribed form, a right for the licensee to object, and a duty on the Controller to protect the licensee's legitimate interests.
A patentee who files without evidence of durable change wastes fees and time; a licensee who ignores the notice can lose the licence without being heard.
How it works in practice
When the patentee finally builds the plant
Three years after a compulsory licence over a patented water-purification cartridge was granted to Vaidehi Filtration Pvt Ltd of Rajkot, the patentee, Neelkanth Membranes Ltd, commissioned its own plant near Hosur. It began supplying the cartridge across India through public health tenders at roughly half its earlier import price, and stock was freely available. Neelkanth applied under section 94 to terminate the compulsory licence, using the prescribed form and fee under Rule 102 and filing a statement of facts with production figures, tender allotments, distributor stock reports and a price comparison. The Controller sent the papers to Vaidehi, which opposed. Vaidehi's evidence showed it had invested heavily in a dedicated moulding line and employed eighty people in Rajkot on the strength of the licence. At the hearing the Controller accepted that the original circumstances had ceased, but, giving due regard to Vaidehi's position, terminated the licence with effect from a future date long enough for Vaidehi to complete its committed orders and redeploy its line.
Simplified illustration only. Actual legal outcomes depend on the facts.
Key points to remember
- Section 94 allows termination of a compulsory licence when the circumstances that justified it have ceased and are unlikely to recur.
- Either the patentee or another interested person may apply; the licensee is entitled to oppose.
- Rule 102 requires the prescribed form, the fee in the First Schedule, and a supporting statement of facts.
- The Controller must give due regard to the interests of the person who has been working the invention under the licence.
- Termination can be ordered on conditions or from a future date to allow an orderly transition.
- Evidence of sustained supply, adequate availability and affordable pricing is what carries an application.
Common mistakes and misunderstandings
- Believing termination is automatic once the patentee starts manufacturing. The Controller weighs the licensee's investment as well.
- Filing on the strength of a few months of activity. A temporary improvement is not a circumstance that is unlikely to recur.
- Assuming that termination wipes out royalty already earned or contracts already performed by the licensee.
- Ignoring the notice from the Patent Office. A licensee who does not oppose is unlikely to persuade the Controller to protect its position later.
Connected provisions
Rules and sections are cited differently and amended differently. On a rule page the connected sections are therefore kept in a separate list, so that a reader quoting this material can attribute each requirement to the correct instrument.
Forms, deadlines and fees
- There is no fixed waiting period before applying under section 94; the trigger is a genuine change in circumstances.
- A licensee who wishes to object must file notice within the period allowed by the current Rules, so check the latest text as soon as the papers arrive.
Open the deadline calculator — and have every date confirmed against the current Rules before you rely on it.
The official fee for anything described on this page is set out in the First Schedule to the Patents Rules. It is not the same for every applicant, and it is not the same for online and physical filing, which is why no amount is stated here. How Indian patent fees work.
Related judgments
Court decisions shape how this provision is applied, but a summary is useful only if it is right. Every case note on this site is read by a legal reviewer before it goes live, and none has been completed for this provision so far. This section will fill in as those reviews finish. How case notes are prepared.
Questions people ask about Rule 102
Who can apply to terminate a compulsory licence in India?
The patentee can, and so can any other person interested in the patent. That second category is deliberately wider than the owner alone, and can include a registered assignee or a person whose business is affected by the licence. Whoever applies must show that the conditions which led the Controller to grant the licence have ceased to exist and are not likely to arise again. The application goes to the Controller, not to a court, and the licensee has a right to be heard.
What evidence persuades the Controller to terminate?
Evidence of a settled change rather than a snapshot. Useful material includes production and dispatch records over a sustained period, distributor and stockist confirmations that the product is available across the country, price data showing the product is now reasonably affordable, and proof that the patentee is meeting demand from Indian manufacture rather than sporadic imports. Documents contemporaneous with ordinary business, such as invoices and tender records, carry more weight than statements prepared for the proceeding.
Can the licensee keep selling stock it has already made?
That depends on what the Controller's order says. Because the Act requires the interests of the person working the invention to be given due regard, orders often set a future effective date, allow existing contracts to be completed, or permit stock in hand to be sold through. A licensee should ask for such protection expressly, with evidence of committed orders, work in progress and employment, rather than assume the Controller will build it into the order without being asked.
Does terminating the licence stop anyone else from applying again?
No. Termination ends that particular licence. If the patentee later slips back into not meeting the reasonable requirements of the public, or the product again becomes unaffordable or unavailable, a fresh application for a compulsory licence under section 84 can be made by an interested person once the statutory conditions are met. That possibility is one reason the Controller looks for change that is likely to last, rather than change timed to the hearing.
Want a compulsory licence over your patent ended?
MYCrave Consultancy assembles the supply, pricing and availability evidence needed for a section 94 termination application.
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